Silver Surfers

No, I am not talking beach and no surfboards are required!

Silver Surfers are older adults in online communities and social networking. According to a study in the June 2010 Gerontologist, researcher Galit Nimrod sought to understand the phenomena of older adults using online social networking sites. For one year, Nimrod reviewed 700k messages from 14 online communities in the UK, Australia, Canada, and the USA with the purpose of examining content and characteristics. Why do we care? So what?

Older adults are the FASTEST growing group of online users, and therefore marketing to them is smart business. According to Nimrod, involvement in social networking may provide social support, contribute to self-preservation, and provide opportunities for self-discovery and growth. Social networking for this age group can buffer the impact of negative life events and contribute to overall well-being (p. 389). Of the thirteen most visited sites, the top five were fun on line [jokes, funny stories], retirement, family, health, and work/study.

Why are some silvers NOT surfing? Known as the digital divide, there are cultural and technical barriers preventing some from participating. Some reasons given are lack of computer access, lack of money for equipment, technophobia [fear of technology], lack of training and support, lack of perceived need, and vision difficulties.